Keeping current
Richard A. Quinnell, Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 4/1/2006
Technology always seems to be a zero-sum game. It brings many benefits but at the same time creates new problems. The Internet, for instance, has greatly amplified personal communications and world "connectedness," but it has also spawned increased identity theft and opened our homes and workplaces to worms and viruses.
Wireless communications seems to be following the pattern. While the ability to connect equipment without cables increases system flexibility, it comes at a price. The growing trend toward wireless everything is subjecting us to a flood of RF energy, the long-term effects of which are still uncertain.
The only answer seems to be an ever-increasing round of innovation and education. That is certainly the case with compliance issues for wireless communications. As technology evolves, so do the problems that standards and regulations need to address. The trouble is, these activities are always one step behind the innovation.
A case in point is the standards activity now underway regarding specific absorption rate (SAR), a measure of the heat that RF energy induces in living tissue. Standards have recently been revised to reflect the higher operating frequencies of cell phones. Now, more effort is needed to define exposure levels for wearable transmitters.
Continuing education thus becomes a necessity for compliance engineers as technology and standards evolve.
Contact Richard A. Quinnell at richquinnell@att.net.
